”I was in front of him, but…” - Michael van der Mark on losing Portimao WSBK podium

A last lap battle with Alex Lowes meant Michael van der Mark slipped from third to fourth in the WorldSBK Superpole Race at Portimao.

The Algarve circuit is an important one for van der Mark and for his BMW team, as it was the site of his most recent WorldSBK victory in a wet Superpole Race back in 2021. That was also BMW’s only WorldSBK victory since it re-entered the series as a factory team in 2019 until the beginning of this season.

However, the 2024 Superpole Race was less kind to van der Mark, who lost out on what would have been his first podium since Race 2 at the 2021 Indonesian Round.

“It was hard to accept,” van der Mark told WorldSBK.com about his fourth place in the Portuguese Superpole Race. “But it gave me a lot of confidence as well, we know we’re getting closer.”

The Dutchman explained his battle with Lowes. “I was lined up perfectly behind Alex [Lowes] into the last corner, I was in front of him [on the exit] and then just before the finish line the bike started to wheelie and I lost some speed. So, it was a shame to lose out on the podium, but it was nice to fight again for the podium.”

If it was a frustrating end to the battle for van der Mark, the feeling for Lowes was different.

“I’m a big admirer of Michael’s,” Lowes said of his former teammate. “I really respect him a lot as a rider. I think he’s had a difficult few years with the leg injuries that he had. I’m so happy to see him back every weekend fighting for the top six.”

Reflecting more specifically on their Superpole Race battle, Lowes said “I felt like he deserved the podium, but it was close on the last lap. We’ve had a lot of battles before when we were teammates and a lot of battles on track so it was nice to be battling together and fighting for the podium together.

“Races like that are really enjoyable. Well done to him, I’m sure he’s going to be strong for the rest of the year.”

Despite starting fourth on the grid, van der Mark was unable to repeat his podium-contending form of the Superpole Race in Race 2, something he put down to the wind.

“Starting fourth is not so bad,” van der Mark said. I had a good start in Race 2 but immediately I struggled with the bike, it didn’t feel as good as this morning or yesterday, I think due to the wind.

“We had a good strategy together with Toprak [Razgatlioglu, van der Mark’s BMW teammate]. I took the lead and tried to go but I just didn’t have the pace I was expecting to. I struggled a lot during the race but at one point it was just— I couldn’t go faster and couldn’t fight back as I wanted to.

“Finishing seventh is not where I wanted to be, but looking back at the weekend I think the whole team had a fantastic weekend here in Portugal.”